Wire-stretcher.



No. 639,876. l Patented Dec. 216, |899.v

G. W. WARNER.

W WIRE STRETCHER.

(Application led Jan. 23, 1899.) (No Model.) Y

UNITED STATES Y PATENT OFFICE.

y GEORGE W. WARNER, OF FREEPORT, ILLINOIS.

WIRE-STRETCHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 639,876, datedDecember 26, 1899.

Application lecl January 23, 1899. Serial No. 703,045. (No model.)

To all whom, t mag/concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. WARNER, of Freeport, in the county ofStephenson and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Wire-Stretchers; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of referencemarked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to an improvement in wire-stretchers of the kindused in the construction of wire fences and the like and ernbracingdouble acting gripping dogs and means for actuating the same.

The invention consists in the matters hereinafter fully set forth, anddefined in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a view in side elevation of a deviceembodying my invention. manner of releasing the dogs. Fig. 3 is a viewin section, taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4i is a plan View' of therear end of the wire-stretcher, showing the manner of engaging a postand attaching the chain. Fig. 5 is a view in section on line 5 5 ofFig. 1. Fig. 6 is a sectional View on line 6 6 of Fig l. Fig. 7 is asectional view on line 7 7 of Fig. l. Fig. 8 is a detail illustratingthe manner of attaching the Wire-stretcher to a post or other stationaryobject. Fig. 9 is a section on line 9 9 of Fig. 6.

In the drawings, A represents a cylindrical rod, and Aan enlargement atthe forward or inner end of the same,provided with upwardly andrearwardly extending hooks a a2 and downwardly and laterally projectingprongs a a, forming a laterally-extended bearing edge or surface as,located beyond the end of the rod and adapted for contact with the postor other object to which the'rod is secured.

B B indicate apertured dogs adapted to slide on said rod and to firmlygrip the same when force is applied to one edge of the said dogs in adirection to thrust them rearwardly or away from the object to which therod is attached.

C indicates a sleeve adapted to slide freely on the rod A and providedon one side with the loop c and on the opposite side, as illus- Fig. 2is a detail view illustrating the` y the shoulder g.

trated in the drawings, with a rearwardlyprojecting lug c.

D represents a lever, which is pivotally secured to the said lug c bymeans of a rivet d or other suitable means in such manner that one endof the saidl lever projects at one side of the rod A and the other endthereof extends therefrom at its opposite side and is adapted to bemanually operated.

E E indicate connecting-bars pivoted upon studs e e3 on th'e said leverD on opposite sides of the said sleeve and having engagement with lugs bb on the dogs B and B',respectively.' The said connecting-bars are eachprovided at a point adjacent to the said dogs with a stud e2 e2,respectively adapted to carry the springs F F, parts whereof .engageeach of the said dogs in such manner as to keep the free extremity ofthe same directed rearwardly.

The loop c on the sleeve C is provided with a cam-clutch G, consistingof a shank having at one end a hook g, adapted to be secured in the loopc, and at its opposite end ashoulder g and a pivoted cam g2, providedwith a hand-lever adapted to grip a wire or other body interposedbetween the said cam and The forward end of the said rod A is providedwith a chain A2, one end of which is permanently secured upon the hooka2 and the other end 'of which is adapted to be engaged by the second oropen hook a. At the extremity of the said chain the same is providedwith a cam-clutch G2, siniilar to the cam-clutch G, but having arearwardly-extended integral hook g4 attached to the shank thereof nearits outer end.

As illustrated in the drawings, the rod A is a straight cylindrical rod,provided at its forward end with a casting or fitting, which is rigidlysecured thereon, the said casting or fitting being provided with thechain-hooks a' a2 and the downwardly and laterally proj ecting prongs aa. Said prongs a a are adapted to engage a post, tree, or otherstationary object, whereby the rod may be rigidly secured in positionWhile subjected to the tension of the stretching device. The essentialportion of this part of the invention is the laterallyextended prongsca, projecting from the rod and located below the central axis of thesaid rod, and the hooks projecting above the said IOO central axis insuch manner that when the rod is upwardly inclined and the chain A2, oneend of which is secured to one of the said hooks, is passed around apost, tree, or other stationary object and secured on the remaining hookthe chain may be tightened by throwing the rod downwardly into itshorizontal position. Obviously if the said prongs d d be placed againstthe post or stationary object and the front end of the rod elevatedsuffito be passed over the open hook a any desired tension of the chainmay be secured. The prongs a, ct being located below the rod, it isobvious that when the said prongs rest against the post and the chain issecured, as above described, upon the said hooks the rod A is in effecta lever of which the point of contact of t-he prongs with the post isthe ful.

crum. The method of applying the chain is clearly shown in Fig. 8. Thedotted lines in the said figure show the position the rod will assumewhen the chain is tightened by the downward movement of the outer end ofthe lever. Fig. l illustrates clearly the position the rod will assumewhen held firmly against the post or other object by means of thetension of the said chain A2, wherein it is clearly shown that the rodwill be self-supporting upon the stationary object, if properly securedthereon in the manner indicated, the laterally-projecting prongs holdingthe rod from swinging sidewise at its rear end and also affording asecure hold of the rod on the post. The bearing edge formed by the twoprongs a a is shown as made of concave form, Fig. 4, so that the ends ofthe prongs will have bearing on the post when the latter has a roundedsurface.

` The dogs B B are provided with a central aperture slightly greater indiam eter than the said rod A. At the forward side of the dog thisaperture is reamed out or enlarged, as

` shown in Figs. 6 and 9, in such manner that the dog may have swingingmovement with respect to the rod. Said dog is provided in the aperturewith a sharp or acute holding edge b4 at the side of said apertureadjacent to the lug b. Within the aperture opposite the lug the dog isalso provided with a sharp ridge b3, projecting toward the central partof said aperture and located out of line with or somewhat forward of theedge b4. This arrangement of the gripping edges results in the said dogacting to grip and firmly hold the rod when the lug thereof is drawnrear-l wardly, or, in other words, when the free end of the said dog iscarried forwardly by the action of its actuating-spring. When, however,the free ends of the said dogs are pressed rearwardly to an extentsufficient to release the grip of the said gripping edges on the rod,the dogs slide freely on the rod. The dogs B and B are provided withprojections b2 b2, extending from the rear faces thereof adjacent to thelugs l) and, as shown, constituting part of said lugs. Said projectionb2 in the case of the forward dog Bforms a stop-surface or shoulder,against which the rearmost dog B strikes when the lever is swung so faras to bring the two edges into contact with each other, the parts beingso constructed that the dogs may be so brought int-o contact in order tofacilitate the release of the dogs from the rod when it is desired toslide them rearwardly along the rod, as

will hereinafter appear. 'lo secure better engagement of the spring F orF with the lug l) or b', each dog is provided with a vertical groove b5,formed in the rearwardly-projecting part b2 of the lug and adapted toreceive one end of the said spring F orF'. The said springs F F, asherein shown, are coiled or spiral springs wound about studs e2 c2 onthe connecting rods orbars. One end of each of the said springs issecured upon its connecting-rod, and the other end thereof engages thelug of the dog in such manner that the action of the said spring willforce the free end of the dog forwardly. The springs F F thus arrangedtend to hold the dogs at all times in position to grip the rod. The rodA is secured by means of the chain A2 upon a post, tree, or otherstationary object in the manner hereinbefore described. The free end ofthe wire desired to be stretched is secured in the cam-clutch G,attached to the sliding sleeve C. The lever D is then worked back andforth. In such backward and forward movement of the said lever the dogswill alternately grip the rod and slide along the same as backward andforward strain is brought on their outer ends, the dogs being therebycarried along the rod toward the end thereof which is attached to thepost and the sliding sleeve O being drawn along the rod by reason of theconnection of the handlever therewith. Obviously when either dog is heldfrom movement by its grip on the rod the pivot through which thehand-lever is connected with such dog serves as a fulcrum on which thehand-lever turns in throwing backward the other dog and moving thesleeve along the rod. The wire to be stretched being attached to thesleeve, its end will be drawn toward the post as the sleeve is carriedalong the rod by the action of the dogs and handlever. When thehand-lever is thrown to the extreme limit of its rearward movement, asseen in Fig. 2, the dogs B B will be in contact, and the free end of thedog B will be brought against the lug of the dog B and will be pressedagainst the same until said dog B has been swung or moved on its pivotfar enough to reach a position in which its grip on the rod is releasedand it is free to slide backwardly along the same. When the parts are inthis position, if it be desired to slide the sleeve and dogs back to theouter end of the rod in position for another operation of the device itwill only be necessary to press with the hand rearwardly upon the freeextremity of the dog B', causing the same to assume the position shownin the dotted lines IOC) IIO

in Fig. 2, when both dogs will be free and may be pushed along the rod.The cam-clutch G2 is used to hold the end of the wire afterit has beenstretched by one operation of the device when it is found necessary torepeat the operation in order to make the Wire sufciently taut, saidclutch being engaged with the wire and serving to hold it from becomingrelaxed while the clutch Gis released, the sleeve and attached partsslid back to the outer end of the rod, and the said clutch G securedupon the Wire. The operation may be repeated any desired number of timesuntil the wire is sufficiently taut. The clutch G2 may be also used inconnection with the clutch G to draw togetherl the ends of a brokenwire, in which case it will not be necessary that the chain A2 besecured upon any stationary object; but the clutches G G2 being securedupon the ends of the said broken Wire the device may be operated to drawthe two ends together, When the said wire may be spliced.

I claim as my inventionl. A Wire-stretcher comprising a rod,wirestretching mechanism thereon having sliding engagement therewith andmeans for attaching the rod to a post or the like comprising a hookprojecting upwardly from the rod, a chain or the like attached to therod aboveits axis and adapted for engagement with the hook and bearingprongs or arms on the end of the rod extending laterally at the side ofand below the central axis of said rod.

2. A wire-stretcher comprising a rod, gripping-dogs thereon, a sleevesliding on the rod, a hand-lever pivoted to the sleeve, connecting-barspivotally uniting the hand-lever with said dogs and springs appliedbetween the dogs and bars to hold the dogs in their gripping position,the dog nearest the handlever being adapted for, contact with the dogremote therefrom when the lever is swung to the extreme limit of itsmovement in such manner as to release the dog nearest the lever from itsgripping engagement with the rod.

3. A Wire-stretcher comprising a rod, gripping-dogs thereon, a-sleevesliding on the rod, a hand-lever pivoted to the sleeve, connecting-barspivotally uniting the said lever with the said dogs, and springs appliedbetween the said connecting-bars and the dogs tending to hold the dogsin their gripping position, said dog which is remote from the sleevebeing provided at its side adjacent to its connecting-bar with aprojection adapted for engagement with the side of the other dog remotefrom its connecting-bar when the handlever is swung to the extreme limitof its throw.

et. A wire-stretcher comprising a rod, gripping-dogs thereon, a sleevesliding on the rod, a hand-lever pivoted to the sleeve, connecting-barsuniting the hand-lever with the said dogs, laterally-projecting studs onsaid bars, and springs applied between the said connection-bars and saiddogs, said springs being coiled about the studs on the connecting-barsand the dogs being provided with holdinggrooves in which rest the endsof the springs which bear on the dogs, the apertures for the rod in saiddogs being of a flaring form'and having in the smaller end at oppositesides thereof annular edges b3 b4, arranged out lof line with each otheror at different distances from the side faces of the dog.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as 1n yinvention I affix mysignature, in presence of two witnesses,this 5th day of January, A. D.-1899.

GEORGE W. WARNER.

Witnesses:

C. F. HILDRETH, W. B. BUNELL.

